Future relations between Russia and Germany should be built on the basis of cooperation rather than confrontation, Matthias Platzeck, the head of the German-Russian Forum non-government organization, said on Tuesday.

He said that both Moscow and Berlin need such a format as Potsdam Meetings. “We were meeting in this format for years to speak about pleasant things – arts, philosophy, history,” he said. “But two years ago, bearing in mind the current situation, we decided to change the format and character of this forum and tackle political issues.”

“We want to find ways to dialogue,” the German expert said. “We had to do that as our countries are drifting away from each other. Some five to seven year ago, I could not imagine it even in a nightmare.”

According to Platzeck, a former leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, the Potsdam Meetings format may serve as a protected venue for Russia-Germany cooperation where “we will be able to speak with each other openly and honestly and not to hush up gaps in our positions or problems we have.”

“These meetings should focus on ways to get out of this dead end, to find solutions to this conflict. We must think about future which is to be built based on cooperation, not confrontation,” he stressed.